The banjo is a stringed instrument with, typically, four or five strings, which vibrate a membrane of plastic material or animal hide stretched over a circular frame. The banjo is usually associated with country, folk, classical music, Irish traditional music and bluegrass music. Recently, the banjo has enjoyed inclusion in a wide variety of musical genres, including pop crossover music, indie rock and Celtic punk.
The modern banjo comes in a variety of forms, including four- and five-string versions. A six-string version, tuned and played similarly to a guitar, has gained popularity. In almost all of its forms, banjo playing is characterized by a fast arpeggiated plucking, though there are many different playing styles.
The body, or “pot,” of a modern banjo typically consists of a circular rim (generally made of wood, though metal was also common on older banjos) and a tensioned head, similar to a drum head. Traditionally the head was made from animal skin, but today is often made of various synthetic materials. Most modern banjos also have a metal “tone ring” assembly that helps further clarify and project the sound, however many older banjos did not include a tone ring.
Modern banjos are typically strung with metal strings. Usually the fourth string is wound with either steel or bronze-phosphor alloy. Some banjo players may string their banjos with nylon or gut strings to achieve a more mellow, old-time tone.
One of the most critical parts of a banjo is the bridge. Varying the banjo bridge can vary the sound quality and sound character or tone of a banjo. The mass of the bridge is extremely important for proper banjo tone production, and this is a primary purpose of proper banjo setup. A heavy bridge will mute the instrument, and for this reason, many experienced banjo players routinely remove excess wood from bridges with a Dremel Mototool® or the like. This will increase the volume and brighten the sound. Some banjo players do not usually find it necessary to alter these bridges by removing any wood from them. The bridge on a banjo is not permanently attached to the head, so it is possible for a bridge to move out of position.
The reason for banjo bridges having openings is to cut down on the mass of the bridge. Heavier bridges make for a mellower tone. Very light bridges make a bright sound. Most banjo players and builders already know it takes a very heavy (dense wood) to give a good banjo sound. Maple has been traditionally used to construct banjo bridges, but it has to be shaved very thin to compensate for the inherent heaviness of the wood. The reason for breaking the banjo bridge into separate feet is to allow the bridge to flex to the concave shape of the head, keeping the contact pressure even crossed the base of the bridge, the looser the head the more of a curve the bridge has to conform to. Neither the number of feet, nor the sizes of space between feet openings in the bridge base seem to affect the tone.
Some banjo bridges have string saddles, but this is optional. Likewise, some banjo bridges have an optional block of material positioned between the bridge and the strings, often this block is formed from a very hard material. A very hard substance will add to the brilliance, overtones and sustain of a note. Ebony, ivory, many plastics, and pearl is what is typically recommend in constructing a single large block or numerous individual blocks positioned under each string.
While all banjos and related instruments have a bridge, the configuration of the conventional banjo bridge has remained relatively unchanged for hundreds of years, and it is the purpose of the present invention to introduce a remarkable new change to banjo bridge configurations.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. In addition, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.